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Thursday, November 16, 2006

!!! That Darned Cat !!!

In just over a month, it will be four years since I acquired Kiki Thomas McFierceson, a large (neutered) male tabby cat from a friend who left for the seminary.

I love this cat. He is a dear, velvety teddy bear cuddler, and he has a very droll sense of humor. He also can always be counted on to know when I am sad, and comes running to sit by me with concerned looks at the first sounds of weeping from me. He is also an extreme Mama's Boy. I can't even go downstairs to the basement to do laundry without him following me down, looking very worried that I am leaving the house (in his mind, any door means that I am "leaving" him). He cries piteously when I go outside. This cat loves me, not only because I provide food for him, but because he thinks I give better back and tummy rubs than anyone else in the universe. Not to mention, he is smart enough to know that I will let him hog my bed at night if he's cold.

HOWEVER, recent weeks have found Kiki starting a new "behavior". Namely, if he poops in the bathroom litter box in the middle of the night, he seems to feel compelled to notify the entire household (especially ME!) of the fact that he has stunk up the joint. And Murphy's Law dictates that the more desperate I am for sleep, or especially the sweeter the dream I am dreaming and the less I want to be awakened, the more likely it is that Kiki Thomas McFierceson will yowl a smugly proud cat aria outside my door. (Imagine Pavarotti as a 23 pound tenor tomcat, singing "I have stunk up the place! And I'm darned proud of myself! Cannot you smell my stink?! It is so marvelous!!" to the tune of "Dona Immobile" (spelling), the famous aria from the opera Rigoletto.

Obviously, this cat cannot stand the smell of his own poop!

While I would rather keep the litter boxes free of... debris than I would change baby diapers, still it's a challenge sometimes! To you moms and dads out there, keep in mind that babies are only in diapers for a limited number of years. Cats, however, ALWAYS need someone to clean their litterboxes at least a couple of times daily.

And now that I'm done venting about The Cat Who Woke Me Up, I will try to go back to sleep.